A 13-year-old girl was arrested Tuesday night ? and later sent to a juvenile detention facility in Hutchinson ? after starting up a vehicle at one residence and stealing a van from another, Winfield police said.
Officers arrived at 208 W. 10th around 10 p.m when a resident called to report hearing his truck being started outside his home. He went outside to find the truck running with the door open, but no one was inside the vehicle.
Five minutes later, a juvenile runaway was found in an alley in the 1200 block of Manning. She provided what was determined to be a phony name and identity, according to asst. police chief Brett Stone.
Police determined the girl had run away from a home in the 200 block of E. Fourth a few hours earlier.
Inside her backpack, police found a wallet belonging to Ben Weber and a credit card belonging to Olivia Weber, a couple that live on N. Park in Winfield. Shortly thereafter, police recovered the Weber’s van in the 700 block of Manning.
The Dodge Caravan looked as if it had hit a curb and had a flattened a tire. The vehicle also had a smashed rear bumper and the back window was broken out, which may have been the result of the van crashing into a tree or telephone pole.
The Webers were able to recover the van and the female runaway admitted to taking the van and other property.
The suspect faces two counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle.
